Note: Now listed in our Poster Shop -- original HJ QUEX poster for sale!
HJ Quex film materials in the Collection
The 1933 film Hitlerjunge Quex was directed by Hans Steinhoff and produced by Karl Ritter for Ufa. As was discovered in the research for the book KARL RITTER – HIS LIFE AND 'ZEITFILMS' UNDER NATIONAL SOCIALISM (© 2012,2014 by William A. Gillespie), Karl Ritter was instrumental in recommending the idea of the film to the Ufa studio, and when the project was approved, Hans Steinhoff promised to be Ritter's lifelong friend if he would assign Steinhoff to be the film's Director (See pp. 15 of the 2nd edition of the book for citation.)
Although film histories generally note that the late Weimar 1932 produced U-Boat feature film Morgenrot by Ufa placed the studio in good stead with the new Hitler government in early 1933, it is without doubt that its next feature film -- the first produced by Ufa during the Third Reich -- cemented the relationship in step with the wishes of the government and Dr. Goebbels. Proof of this close working relationship is clearly evident in the first announcement of the film in the 1933/1934 Ufa season preview book and then in the extremely rare 36 page "Werberatschlag" (cinema owner's guide to the film's promitional materials) which are both found in the Collection.
The 1933/1934 Ufa film season program booklet stated in its first paragraph:
In confident trust in the government of the Reich, with such an outstanding, success-–initiated, economic lift of the German people, by providing extraordinary artistic, financial and technical resources, [this] has enabled us at Ufa to offer our esteemed clientele the 1933/34 film distribution program of 27 feature, cultural and short films.
HJ Quex had not only the famous poster available, but film stills (we have four original German stills and one original 1941 French still), and a 4 page pamphlet and an 8 page small format newspaper on the film were produced for wide distribution. The 4 page pamphlet and the 8 page newspaper (Opfergeist) are both found in our Collection, as is the Ufaton Verlag's sheet music for the new song which became a national anthem for the Hitler Youth.
The very first announcement of the film by the Ufa studios was an 8 page slick pamphlet shown below on the right, and as shown on the left, the Ufa song sheet for the new HJ song "Unsre Fahne flattert uns voran! :
The 4 page flyer's front and back pages:
The front page of the 8 page Opfergeist newspaper published by Ufa:
Until the "Werberatschlag" was after thirty years of searching acquired by the Collection in August 2014, it was not fully understood that the 4 page pamphlet and 8 page newspaper were officially part of the film's propaganda campaign as initiated and overseen by the Ufa studio. A page in the "Werberatschlag" lists both publications for cinema owners to order and help promote the film in their city:
